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News Nuggets, 06.11.04
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NOTES FROM ECU AND BEYOND...

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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

Big season gets R.J. a ticket to pro baseball

 

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06.10.04: Green Wave aims for second trip to Omaha ... .. Star football recruit dies in Arizona workout ... .. More...
06.09.04: ECU antes up to fend off UVa pursuit of Herenda ... .. Baird successor axed by Auburn ... .. Vandals accept invitation to join WAC ... .. More...
06.08.04: Draft notices issued to six champs ... .. Super Regional pairings finalized ... .. Times, TV plans set for Columbia Super Regional ... .. College baseball polls... .. More...
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06.02.04: Aztecs, Wolf Pack finagle games with Notre Dame ... .. Banished Texas hurlers recalled for tourney... .. More...
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05.31.04: Pirates, K- Town snag coveted NCAA regional ... .. Title clinches rare NCAA appearance for TCU... .. More...
 

Conference USA Player of the Year Ryan Jones was a 22nd-round selection of the Oakland Athletics on the final day of this week's Major League Baseball Draft.

The East Carolina outfielder, a senior, joins six teammates who were all taken on the first day of the draft. The other players picked, the round in which they were chosen and the teams that selected them were:

  • Junior right-handed pitcher Greg Bunn in the fifth round by the Montreal Expos.
  • Junior first baseman Ryan Norwood in the ninth round by the Chicago Cubs.
  • Second baseman Trevor Lawhorn, a sophomore transfer, in the ninth round by the Cincinnati Reds.
  • Junior outfielder Darryl Lawhorn in the 11th round by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
  • Junior right-handed pitcher Matt Bishop in the 17th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
  • Senior catcher John Poppert in the 17th round by the by the Montreal Expos.

Jones, the 667th overall pick, is batting .402 with 19 home runs and 69 RBI's as ECU enters this weekend's NCAA Super Regional series against South Carolina in Columbia. He was recently named among the finalists for the Dick Howser Trophy, given to college baseball's top player.

Jones was also named to the Louisville Slugger All-America first team last week.


Baseball players' prank nets felony raps

While this weekend's Super Regional scramble for berths in the College World Series is playing out on the field, players from the University of Utah will be worried about the next move by those who work in a courtroom.

What was intended as a prank in the Utah-Brigham Young rivalry has a group of Ute baseball players facing punishment much more severe than either school could dish out.

Painting red "U"s on the "Y" on the mountainside overlooking the BYU campus in Provo got the players charged with a felony. Defense attorneys are trying to get it reduced, but so far it's standing and a court hearing is scheduled for June 21.

"I'll be the first to admit we should be punished. There should have been something done," pitcher Ryan Breska said Thursday. "But a second-degree felony charge seems a little much."

Breska, a reliever who graduated last month, and seven others are charged with second-degree felony mischief, which carries a maximum sentence of up to 15 years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Breska was arrested May 10 when he went to pick up pictures taken as the "Y" was painted April 30, the night before the Utes wrapped up a three-game series at BYU.

"We did it in the hopes that it would be there for our next game on Saturday, just to add some fire to the rivalry — not that it needs much," Breska said.

The Utes saw the effort had failed when the "Y" was a crisp white again by game time the next afternoon. BYU also won 14-9, completing a three-game sweep.

Breska thought that was the end of the prank, until he went to pick up his pictures at a local grocery store. A photo clerk who saw the pictures called police, who had no trouble deducing Utah baseball players were involved because the film included shots from a team trip to New Orleans in February.

Police were waiting for Breska when he went to pick up the photos and was taken to the Utah County Jail, where he spent the night on the felony charge. Breska was released the next day and police called Utah coach Tim Esmay to identify the other players, who were suspended for a game and later charged.

Ryan Florence, Tyler Kmetko, Tyson Olson, Jacob Waldram and Eric Schaler, Jay Brossman and Jason Price are also charged. Schaler, a freshman pitcher, quit the team before the end of the season.

Jeff Buhman, a deputy Utah County attorney who is prosecuting the case, said the charge is a felony because the damage estimate was more than $1,000, the cutoff between a misdemeanor and felony. Pranks between the state's biggest rivals are common. Prosecuting them is not, Buhman said.

"Most of the time people don't get caught from either university. These guys got caught," Buhman said.


News Nuggets are compiled periodically from staff, ECU, Conference USA and its member schools, and from Associated Press and other reports. Copyright 2004 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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